10 Footballers Who Should Have Made it to the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or World Player of the Year List

The FIFA World Player of the Year award, which started in 1991 for men and 2001 for women, is given annually to the best male and female footballers on the planet, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams.

The list for this year’s nominees is already out with high-profile names such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wesley Sneijder and Wayne Rooney already pitted to win. Here, however, are 10 footballers who also should have been included in the coveted list.

David Silva (Manchester City and Spain)

Victor Valdes (Barcelona and Spain)

Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal and Holland)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan & Sweden)

Frank Lampard (Chelsea and England)

Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich and Germany)

Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich and Holland)

Edinson Cavani (Napoli and Uruguay)

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)